Tea for One
by Verboten Byacolate
Summary: SasuSaku, Team 7. He has returned to her life, and all she has to offer is lukewarm tea. "Sakura, your bedside manner leaves much to be desired."


"It's cold."

Sakura looked up from the knife and tomato at hand and to her bedridden patient. Uchiha Sasuke, bruised, battered, and just picked apart in general, frowned into the cup of tea in his bandaged hands as though it had denied him his Christmas present. Sakura went back to her chore.

"Of course it is. I made it half an hour ago."

Dark, expressionless eyes turned her way. She glanced up. "Don't give me that look. It's not my fault you didn't wake up while it was hot." The medic held up a slice of dripping red. "And look. I'm being nice and feeding you a tomato by way of apology."

Sasuke turned back to his cup of cold tea and, in one gulp, downed it. Not because of what his female companion had said-- because there was no reason he could think of to waste perfectly good (if a bit chilly) tea. He wondered if she was going to comment. Half-expected it. Didn't care to admit his surprise when she did not. The girl finished with the tomato and set it on the night table beside him.

"Don't spill. Stains will arouse suspicion. People will begin to think I'm giving you special treatment."

Sasuke said nothing as she turned and walked out the door.

-

"Teme."

Sasuke somehow keeps himself from heaving a long-suffering sigh and opens his weary eyes. Naruto doesn't give him time to reply. "Did Sakura-chan tell you when you'd be getting out of here? I'm looking forward to kicking the crap out of you again soon."

The Uchiha gave his former best friend a withering stare.

"No."

"Eh? Well... how about Granny Tsunade?"

"No."

"Oh... are you sure Sakura-chan didn't--"

"No. I assume she's keeping me here forever. Now go away."

Naruto scratched his head. "Geez... Sakura-chan's gotta know... ask her when you see her again, okay?"

Sasuke hoped the opportunity for such an event would never come to pass.

"Oi... is that tea?"

"I wouldn't know. Sakura looked angry when she gave it to me." Sasuke spoke in monotone, but secretly enjoyed the knowing grimace on Naruto's face. "You're welcome to it."

"Thanks, Teme, but, you know how it is... jutsus to improve, pervs to seduce... But I'll definitely be back to kill you!"

"The tea will kill me before you do," Sasuke replied. Naruto seemed to want to argue, but... angry-Sakura tea...?

Three years has given him a little more brain power, Sasuke mused. That, or a little less density.

-

"Are you going to finish that?"

For the second time that week, his sleep had been disturbed by a familiar annoyance. Sasuke's first glance at his old sensei would turn out to be a glare. Kakashi was pointing a finger at a new cup on his table, filled to the brim of brown liquid.

"No."

"Did you even start it?"

"No."

The Copy nin picked it up, weighed it mentally for a moment... two... three... five... Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and leaned back on uncomfortable hospital pillows. He closed his eyes once more.

The inevitable gagging sound reached his ears.

"It's cold!"

If Sasuke didn't know better, he would think that this was... amusing.

"Take your complaints to Sakura," he said, attempting to fall back to sleep.

-

"I heard you had a couple of visitors."

Sasuke supposed it would be wise to open his eyes for the Godaime. Tsunade stood at the foot of his bed, clipboard in hand, flipping past a couple of pages. He gave a noncomittal grunt.

"I don't speak bear," she snapped, and crossed around the bed to poke and prod at a few things that Sakura would inevitably be checking later. After she became satisfied with making the Uchiha uncomfortable to the point of irritation, Tsunade tucked the clipboard under her arm and dug for something in her pocket.

Sasuke caught the two cherry tomatoes with ease.

"Sakura said she'd have more for you later. She'll be back tomorrow." The Godaime smirked. "She's got a date."

Sasuke waited until she'd left the room to glance at the bedside table. No tea, cold or hot.

But it was no surprise. Sakura was on a _date_.

-

"Here's your tea."

Sasuke, now very used to interruptions to his sleep, woke immediately at the sound of her voice. "I know I promised you tomatoes, but they'll have to wait."

"Your date was hungry?"

Sakura blinked in surpise.

"... No... but my sick cat was..."

Oh. Well, that didn't make Sasuke feel the _least _bit stupid. At least he was capable of not showing it as easily as Naruto.

"Why? What made you think I had a date?"

Sasuke found no reason to lie: In truth, it was a bit of a shock to feel relief in his system at the news of the Godaime's lie. He also found less reason to speak. So, of course, falling prey to reason, he decided to say nothing at all. Sakura, realizing this in a matter of minutes, closed her own mouth as well. The silent duo went about Sasuke's routine checkup, and soon, they were done. Sakura left the room without a word, which was another surprise to Sasuke, but returned almost immediately.

"Your tea. It's hot this time."

-

"... You have a _cat_?"

-

Naruto's second visit was approximately seven times less graceful than the first. To be painfully honest, the idiot tripped as he came into the room, entering Sasuke's line of vision with a faceplant. For the first time in three years, Sasuke gave a scoff equivalent to laughter.

He was in a good mood. This time, he had already been awake before the visitation.

"SHUT UP," Naruto demanded, red-faced and frazzled. "Granny made me... hey...cold tea again?" The blond glanced at the report sheet at the end of Sasuke's bed. "You were awake when Sakura-chan was here an hour ago. Why didn't you drink it?"

Sasuke, too, turned toward the table. He gave it a contemplative glance before picking up the ceramic cup.

"I prefer it cold, Dobe."

-fin-

**Ah, the return of Sasu-chan. X3**


End file.
